Political Science is the systematic study of the State and government. Politics is a science because it gives us a basic knowledge and understanding of the state and the principles and ideals underlying its organization and activities.
Therefore, in political science, we study the affairs of the State and how the system work. Politics becomes a science because it undergoes scientific methodologies and
Strategies in the process of governmental operations and the relations between men and the State.
THE STATE AND GOVERNMENT
The State
The state is a community of persons, more or less numerous,
permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, independent of external
control and possessing organized
government to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience.
The Elements of the State
The following are the elements of the state:
People – It refers simply to the inhabitants of the State.
Territory – It is the fixed portion of the surface of the earth
inhabited by the people of the State. The national territory of the Philippines
is comprised of the following;
1.
The Philippine archipelago with all the islands
and waters embraced therein.
2.
All the other territories over which the
Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial,
fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the
subsoil and other submarine areas; and
3. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.
Government – It is the agency or instrumentality through which the
will of the State is formulated, expressed and realized. The government of the
Republic of the Philippines is composed of the Following:
1. National Government- refers to the entire machinery of the government.
2. Local Governments – refer to the political subdivisions such as provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays.
3. Autonomous Regions – refers to the autonomous governments or regions in the country.
4.
Metropolitan
Authority – refers to the special political subdivisions composed of all
local government units comprising Metro Manila.
Sovereignty – is the supreme power of the state to enforce its will
upon the people and the freedom from external or foreign control.
Origin of the State
There are several theories concerning the origin of the state, among them are:
Divine Right Theory – It holds that the state is of Divine creation and the ruler is ordained by God to govern the people. Reference has been made to the laws which Moses received at Mt.Sinai.
Necessity or Force Theory – It maintains that the state must have been created through force, by some great warriors who imposed their will upon the weak.
Paternalistic Theory – It attributes the origin of the state to the enlargement of the family which remained under the authority of the father or mother. By natural stages, the family grew into a clan, then developed into a tribe, and then broadened into a nation, and the nation became a state.
Social Contract Theory – It asserts that the early states must have
been formed by deliberate and voluntary compact among the people to form a
society and organize government for their common good. This theory justifies
the right of the people to revolt against a bad ruler.
Distinction between a State and a Nation
The state is a political concept while nation is an ethnic concept. A nation is a group of people bound together by common culture and who believe that they are one and distinct from other.
A nation may or may not be
independent of external control, while a state may consist of one or more
nations and a nation may be made of several states.
Functions of Government
The government has two functions classified as constituent function and ministrant function.
1. The constituent
functions are those which constitute the bond of society, and are therefore,
compulsory in nature, such as:
a. The keeping of order and providing for the protection of person and property form a violence and robbery;
b. The fixing of legal relations between man and wife and between parents and children;
c. The regulation of the holding, transmission and interchange of property and the determination of its liabilities for debt or for crime;
d.
The determination of contractual rights between
individuals;
e.
The definition and punishment of crimes;
f.
The administration of justice in civil cases;
g.
The determination of political duties, privileges
and relations of citizens;
h.
Dealings of the state with foreign powers; the
preservation of the State from external danger of encroachment and the
advancement of its international interests.
2. The ministrant functions are those undertaken by way of advancing
the general interests of society, and are therefore, optional, such as public
works, public education, public charity, health and safety regulations and
regulations of trade and commerce.
Forms of Government
The Principal forms of government are:
1. Monarchy – one in which the supreme and final authority is in the hands of a single person without regard to the source of his election or the nature or duration of his tenure.
Monarchies are classified
into:
1.
Absolute monarchy – one in which the
ruler rules by divine right;
2.
Limited monarchy – one in which the
ruler rules in accordance with a constitution.
2. Aristocracy – one in
which political power is exercised by a few privileged class which is known as
aristocracy or oligarchy; and
3. Democracy – one in
which political power is exercised by a majority of the people. Democratic
governments are further classified into:
1. Direct or pure democracy – one in which the will of the state
is formulated or expressed directly and immediately through the people in a
mass meeting or primary assembly rather than through the medium of delegates or
representatives chosen to act for them;
2. Indirect, representative or republican democracy – one in which
the will of the State is formulated and expressed through the agency of a
relatively small and select body of persons chosen by the people to act as
their representatives.
4. Other forms of government
As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government:
1.
Unitary – one in which the control
of national and local affairs is exercised by the central or national
government: and
2.
Federal –
one in which the power of the government is divided between two sets of organs,
one for national affairs and the other for local affairs, each organ being
supreme within its own sphere.
As to relationship between the legislative and the executive:
1.
Parliamentary – one in which the
state confers upon the legislature the power to terminate the tenure of office
of the real executive. Under this system, the Cabinet or Ministry is
immediately and legally responsible to the legislature and politically
responsible to the legislature and politically responsible to the electorate,
while the titular or nominal executive – the Chief of State – occupies a
position of irresponsibility; and
2.
Presidential
– where the executive is independent of the legislative as to tenure, policies
and acts. He is directly elected by the people.
Kinds of Government
1. De Jure – has general support of its people and is founded on existing constitutional laws of the state.
2.
De Facto – is founded not on
existing constitutional laws of the state.
2.1 De facto government by usurpation – gets possession and control of, or usurps by force, or by voice of the majority, the rightful government and maintains itself against the will of the latter.
2.2 De facto government by insurrection – established as an independent government by the inhabitants of a country who rise in insurrection against the parent state; and
2.3 De
facto government by invasion – established and maintained by military Force
which invades and occupies a territory of the enemy in the course of war, and
which is dominated by a government of paramount force.